ABSTRACT

Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding is one of the most broadly used welding processes in mass production, as well as in small scale industries. The main reason for this is that MIG welding can weld both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The aim of the present study is to experimentally investigate the ultimate tensile strength during the MIG welding of AISI 304. The input parameters used for the experimental work were wire speed, gas flow rate and welding time. Mean effect plot and S/N ratio graphs have been used to optimize the welding parameters of MIG on AISI 304 stainless steel using the Taguchi method and ANOVA. It has been observed that wire speed has the largest effect on the tensile strength of AISI 304 steel MIG weldments. The optimum welding conditions for greater strength were wire speed (m/min), gas flow rate (liters/min) and welding time (sec).